How To Make Pizza Dough

When deciding what meal to make you usually want something that’s easy to prepare and doesn’t leave you with too much washing up to do afterwards. Pizza is one of the easiest options and luckily most children love it! With very few dishes to wash afterwards, it’s the perfect meal for fun family get-togethers. Have a look at these tips and tricks on how to prepare the perfect pizza dough, and invite the kids to get involved when adding the toppings!

In order to get an elastic dough with super smooth texture it’s vital to choose the correct flour for the job. The “Italian Tipo 00’ could be described as the gold standard of pizza flours. Milled in Italy, this flour is of the highest quality. Because of the fine texture produced during the milling process, this type of flour doesn’t require as much water as some of its counterparts do. If you can’t find a “00” flour a strong white all-purpose flour will work nearly as well. For a more stretchy and chewy texture try using bread flour.

Start off by sieving the flour and some Robertsons Ground Black Pepper onto a work surface and make a small well in the middle. Mix up the rest of the ingredients, typically fast acting yeast, olive oil, lukewarm water, salt and caster sugar in a jug and pour them into the well. Using a fork, gradually bring in the flour from the edges by swirling it into the liquid.

Once the dough starts to come together work the rest of it using your hands. Remember to dust your hands with a little flour to avoid stickiness. For great extra taste, remove the salt and add one Knorr Mixed Herbs Flavour Pot in with the water. Once you have your mixture, it’s time for kneading and rolling the dough. For about 10 minutes, knead the dough by rolling it forwards and backwards. Stretch the dough towards you with one hand as you simultaneously push the dough in the opposite direction with the other.

The next step depends on when you want to serve the pizza. If you want to bake it as soon as possible, you should place the dough into a large mixing bowl whose base has been floured, cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm room for about 45 minutes.

Should you like to bake the pizza the following day, you can line a baking tray with a floured tea towel, sit the dough on top of it and cover with cling film, allowing space to expand, then let it rise in the refrigerator overnight. If the dough has been refrigerated you should take it out about 15 minutes before shaping it into a base, to allow it to continue rising at room temperature.

Before rolling the dough you should divide it into as many balls as the number of pizzas you want to make. The rolling should ideally happen 15-20 minutes before you want to bake them. Dust the dough and your work surface with a small amount of flour and use a rolling pin to roll out to a rough circle, about 1 cm thick.

You can now add your toppings. Bake the pizza at 240°C until golden and crispy.

For a great tasting pizza try this chicken and pesto pizza idea:- Marinate a chicken breast using ½ a Knorr Chicken Stock Pot, which will subtly enhance the natural flavour with herbs and spices. A great way to marinate is to heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan, add the Knorr Chicken Stock Pot and stir rapidly for 2-3 minutes on very gentle heat until the stock dissolves.

Remove from the heat, add some lemon juice, thinly sliced garlic cloves and some sliced hot chilli. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes. Rub mixture into the chicken and leave to marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Fry or grill the chicken until it’s thoroughly cooked. Leave to rest, shred then sprinkle over the top of the pizza with some thinly sliced sweet red peppers and some torn basil leaves. Add some rocket leaves and a few balls of buffalo Mozzarella then drizzle with basil pesto and some chilli oil for the perfect finishing touch.

For another great flavour combination, try our recipe for Home-Made Pizza with Salami, Feta and Olives.

Home-Made Pizza with Salami, Feta and Olives.

Spread a layer of Monkey Gland Sauce over the pizza for a flavourful base, then add the olives, onions, cherry tomatoes, salami and fresh herbs. Finish with a delicious mixture of Mozzarella and feta, and you have a colourful, flavour-packed dish